Kei Nishikori vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: 2015 Roland Garros French Open

A rainy day at the Roland Garrostennis grounds in Paris limited Day 8 action from the 2015 French Open. However several matches were still completed and some quarterfinalists are known in both the men’s and women’s draws.

On the men’s side, Kei Nishikori of Japan was the highest ranked player to advance. Nishikori defeated Teymuraz Gabashvili in straight sets to advance to the French Open quarters. Nishikori, in the round of eight, will face his first true test of the tournament as he has picked up one of France’s best hopes for a French champion.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a one-time Grand Slam finalist and Nishikori’s next opponent, is playing strong tennis again. The current World No. 15, since making the 2008 Australian Open final, has always been a dangerous player on tour.

However Tsonga, now 30 years old, had not been much of a factor on tour through the opening of 2015. Furthermore, in 2014, he failed to make any Grand Slam quarterfinal round. But on Sunday Tsonga, with a victory over Tomas Berdych in four sets, bucked that trend and re-established himself as a Grand Slam threat. Nishikori does hold a 4-1 heads-up advantage over Tsonga and most would expect the Japan No. 1 to advance to the semifinals.

Stan Wawrinka also advanced to the quarters on Sunday, defeating Gilles Simon in straight sets. Wawrinka will make only his second appearance in the Roland Garros quarters following a loss in 2013 to Rafael Nadal at that stage. Who Wawrinka will face is not clear yet as Roger Federer and Gaels Monfils appear to be involved in a coin toss with one another. The two players split the two opening sets of their fourth round match before play had to be suspended for the day.

On the women’s side former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic advanced to the quarters with a win over Ekaterina Makarova. She’ll next face upstart Elina Svitolina, a player who is emerging as one of the more talented young players on the women’s tour.

The other two women’s matches did not complete on Sunday, which should make for a jam-packed day of tennis on Monday. In one postponed match, veteran Flavia Pennetta and Garbine Muguruza will meet on Suzanne-Lenglen Court on Day 9 (not before 11am). In the other suspended match, Lucie Safarova and Maria Sharapova will meet on Philippe-Chatrier Court (also not before 11am). It’s this latter match that Federer and Monfils will follow, a match that partisan French fans should be very interested in if Monfils can make it interesting.

The three postponed matches will be additional, weather permitting, to a full slate of other fourth round matches. Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic, the respective World No. 1s, are both expected to play on Monday. Furthermore, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, and Petra Kvitova will also be in action as those three former Grand Slam champions look to book their spots in the round of eight.

With the tournament now more than a week old, not much has changed in terms of who is expected to win the women’s and men’s draw. There have been few headlining upsets and the favorites remain Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic in the women’s and men’s draws respectively.